- 55% of marketers believe emotions are the most important success factor for advertising campaigns.
- German consumers are harder to excite compared to international audiences.
- German advertising is 20% less emotional than in other European markets.
Cologne, 15 September 2025 – DMEXCO, Europe’s leading digital marketing & tech event, has partnered with market research company Kantar to conduct a study on the role of creativity in marketing. For the “Kantar Media Reactions 2025: DMEXCO Edition”, both German and international marketers were surveyed.
The findings are clear: creativity, emotions, and storytelling are the key drivers of marketing ROI – but in Germany they are still not applied consistently enough.
Four key elements of effective creative strategies
64% of international and 63% of German brand decision-makers agree: creativity is becoming increasingly important to campaign success.
Emotional appeal is ranked as the most important element of creative strategy by 55% of respondents worldwide, with the strongest impact on advertising effectiveness. According to the study, emotionally charged ads can quadruple long-term brand growth and significantly boost competitive edge.
In second place comes storytelling, with 41%. Kantar’s analysis confirms that emotional storytelling significantly increases future brand demand: on average, the most emotionally engaging 30% of ads tested score 61 percentile points higher on Future Brand Demand than the 30% with the lowest emotional impact.
Other crucial factors in global creative strategies include cross-channel consistency (27%) and the use of local insights (24%). By contrast, humour (16%) and the use of AI in production (15%) are considered less relevant.
Kantar’s analyses also reveal that humour in advertising has declined by 20% over the past 20 years – despite clear evidence of its effectiveness: funny ads achieve up to 46 percentile points more in future brand demand compared to neutral ones.
Creative Gap in Germany
When asked about the key drivers of advertising profitability, CMOs reveal differing priorities in Germany compared to the global picture:
- Among German marketers, creative quality ranks first – ahead of the balance between brand and performance, media mix, and audience fit.
- Globally, however, marketers place the media mix at the top, followed by the balance between brand and performance, audience fit, and only then creative strategy.
German advertising rarely excites audiences
German campaigns continue to struggle to strike an emotional chord with consumers. The “Enjoyment Score” of German audiences – measuring the level of joy and satisfaction in response to advertising – reaches only 3.31 out of 5 points. This is lower than in countries such as Italy (3.82), the USA (3.8), or France (3.42). Only the UK, Denmark, and Sweden score lower.
At the same time, the share of rational advertising messages in Germany is significantly higher than in other European markets. While emotional messages are used 20% less frequently, rational ones are 18% above the European average. Nevertheless, only 3% of German marketers state that product-focused advertising is an important part of their creative strategy.
Verena Gründel, Host and Director Brands & Communications at DMEXCO, summarises:“Advertising needs to be bolder. If it doesn’t touch people, it remains irrelevant. Especially in a market as rational as Germany, advertisers can truly make a difference by daring more. It’s time to see creativity not as a nice-to-have, but as a strategic asset.”
Yulia Kalner, Head of Media and Creative at Kantar Germany, views the results as a key milestone for German marketers. She explains: “For years, German advertising has focused on rational product messages, leaving the industry lagging behind internationally. However, we are now observing a crucial shift in mindset: German marketers are recognising that progress can only be achieved through boldness and creativity.”
The study results will be presented at the live session “Bold, creative, emotional: Key Factors to boost your Marketing ROI” at DMEXCO 2025. The presentation will take place on Thursday, 18 September 2025, from 09:55 to 10:10 on the Centre Stage.
Methodology
On behalf of DMEXCO, Kantar conducted an online survey between 4 April and 15 June 2025 among 974 international and 62 German marketing decision-makers. The online interviews targeted professionals from advertising, media, and creative agencies as well as media companies, and were organised via email and social media invitations.
About DMEXCO
DMEXCO is Europe’s leading digital marketing & tech event. We are a community and a central gathering place for all key players in the digital economy and the spheres of marketing and innovation. We bring together industry leaders, marketing and media professionals, and tech pioneers in one central location to collectively set the digital agenda. DMEXCO offers a comprehensive ecosystem featuring presentations from internationally renowned speakers, exhibitions from top brands and hands-on masterclasses – all centered around digital trends and future business opportunities.
Both in Cologne and online, we set the benchmark as the go-to networking and business platform for the digital economy. At DMEXCO, decision-makers gain valuable insights, draw inspiration, make contacts and seal deals. This is where the digital business landscape of tomorrow unfolds today. The 2025 edition of the event will take place in Cologne on September 17 and 18.
With the launch of DMEXCO ASIA, DMEXCO is making its first expansion into the international market this year. Hosted as part of Tech Week Singapore in partnership with eCommerce Expo, the event will set trends in the Southeast Asian and Pacific market and serve as a platform for the Asian digital economy. eCommerce Expo | DMEXCO ASIA will debut on October 8–9, 2025.
The German Association for the Digital Economy (BVDW) e.V. – together with the online marketing association Online-Vermarkterkreis (OVK) – is the ideational and professional partner of DMEXCO and owner of the DMEXCO brand. DMEXCO is organized by Koelnmesse.
Image material on DMEXCO is available online.
About Kantar
Kantar is one of the world’s leading companies for marketing data and analytics, and a trusted partner to the world’s most successful businesses. Our mission is to work with our clients to gain a deeper understanding of their brands, develop innovative marketing strategies, and actively shape the future of their business. We combine meaningful insights into human behaviour and attitudes with deep expertise and cutting-edge analytical methods.
Kantar – Shape your brand future.
Media contact
Elena Fischer
PR & Media Relations Manager DMEXCO
Email: elena.fischer@dmexco.com
Phone: +49 17612562802
